The Zone: The School of Life

[WHO] Kaj Lofgren, director of The School of Life, opening soon in Australia [WHAT] Using philosophy, culture and wisdom from through the ages to live well[HOW] A centre that provides classes, conversations, books, lectures and more

If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.- Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727), English mathematician and physicist

Kaj Lofgren's School of Life may provide a shortcut to benefitting from history. Photo: Simon Schluter

This notion is most famously associated with Newton, but was around for hundreds of years before he became a pivotal figure in the scientific revolution and is first attributed to a 12th-century French philosopher, Bernard of Chartres.

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Today's guest in The Zone is providing a community stepladder to the shoulders of giants. Kaj Lofgren is the director of The School of Life, a centre ''dedicated to exploring good ideas for everyday living''. By drawing on the lessons of philosophy and culture, it helps people find purpose and passion, to make life-changing decisions and to confront contemporary challenges.

''It is using the wisdom from through the ages and applying it to everyday living today. And that manifests in a whole lot of areas - concerns like how to have better conversations, how to make love last, how to face death, all the way through to things like how to be confident and how to be creative.''

A short video statement by Lofgren and the full transcript of our discussion are at theage.com.au/federal-politics/the-zone. He will be online for an hour from midday to respond to questions and comments, which can be submitted from early this morning.

Other questions the school explores include how to find fulfilling work, how to be calm, how to master the art of relationships and how to understand one's past.

''We're certainly not in the happiness industry, because one of the truths of what we're trying to explore is that living can be incredibly difficult sometimes and society can be sad and can even lead you to despair at times. And to try to avoid these things through being overly optimistic or seeking a positive answer at all times can actually be quite dangerous.''

Lofgren argues that philosophy has been less prominent in the past 50 years than it has generally been throughout the past 2000 years. He attributes this partly to the rise of the ''self-help movement'', which, he contends, at times exploits vulnerable people by offering unduly simple answers to problems sometimes so complex or profound as to be intractable.

The School of Life was founded in London in 2007 by a group of philosophers, the most prominent of whom is Alain de Botton, author of a series of books and television documentaries about the relevance of philosophy to everyday existence.

The school offers a range of classes, products and services. It publishes books. It facilitates discussions - ranging from one-on-one sessions to classes of dozens to informal gatherings in pubs and cafes. It has speakers presenting to audiences of several hundred. It runs workshops and extended retreats.

''We are trying to get people to lean towards action when they reflect on ideas. We're trying to get people to actively engage, not passively absorb.''

De Botton and his colleagues plan to open branches of The School of Life throughout the world. Lofgren is launching the first one in Melbourne's central business district in about three weeks.

So, why Australia, and why Melbourne? It is a somewhat mysterious fit; for unknown reasons, as many as 50 per cent of the early participants in London were Australian. About five years after The School of Life was launched there, a Melbourne magazine, Dumbo Feather, which profiles ''the extraordinary people behind extraordinary ideas'', interviewed de Botton.

Dumbo Feather is published by a husband-and-wife team of social entrepreneurs, investors and mentors, Danny Almagor and Berry Liberman, through their firm Small Giants. Before taking on the role at The School of Life, Lofgren was Small Giants' director of strategy. ''In the process of conducting this interview with Alain we visited the school and we realised the mission of our organisations is very similar. So we started what could only be called a long-distance flirtatious relationship around bringing the school to Australia.''

Lofgren and his collaborators ran a pilot program in Melbourne last year.

''We had an overwhelming response. We had 57 classes over a nine-week period, a very ambitious program. We sold out every single event. We had waiting lists of up to 700 or 800 people for a single class.''

The easiest way to participate is to join the mailing list for events notifications at The School of Life website (see below).

Lofgren says the school's classes and programs (for which it charges) are selling out quickly. ''I think it is testament to where Melbourne is at the moment sociologically. There is a big desire and a big hunger for the sort of material we're offering, which is wonderful, but also quite frustrating for some people because it sometimes can be hard to get in.''

He says the school attracts two categories of people, split about evenly. The first comprises those seeking help with a specific problem or decision.

''The surprising thing about that category was, for me personally, realising the power of having these conversations with strangers. It is often thought that if you have this conversation with people who you know and who understand you, that is the best way to reach some sort of solution, for want of a better word.

''What we found was there was an incredible liberation in the room when people realised that there was no judgment in these conversations because basically you were in a room with people who didn't know you. And afterwards people have befriended each other and there are wonderful stories of relationships that have begun.''

The second category includes those who are inherently curious. These people are into life-long learning and are seeking like-minded people with whom to explore and discover ideas.

''In contrast to the first group, which were seeking new thinking on a specific issue, the people who came as generalists were a bit more casual about the experience and were oftentimes positively surprised by the new elements of thought that they could get to.''

The School of Life will include a ''Conversation Cafe''. During last year's pilot program, Lofgren found that some of the most spirited conversations occurred at the little pop-up cafe Small Giants provided; the classes were the catalyst.

''That's where we can get some incredibly profound moments, where people get given permission by the school, so to speak - which I think a lot of people struggle to get in their everyday lives - to discuss and think about these human concerns.''

As well as the cafe and the classroom, the school will run a bookshop.

The School of Life is marking its launch in collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria. The project will be central to a ''secular sermon'' on art as therapy de Botton will deliver in Melbourne in late March.

''The idea of using art as a tool to address human concerns is what it is about. So together with the NGV we have curated a walking tour through their public gallery, where we have rewritten some of the plaques next to major artworks to basically relate that piece of artwork to some human concerns and to rephrase and reinterpret the way that we view art. It is certainly not the only way to view art and it is not trying to replace traditional ways; it is just trying to add an extra layer.''

The secular and non-dogmatic School of Life deals with serious questions, but Lofgren says it is not earnest. It embraces humour and encourages playfulness. One offering is ''bibliotherapy'', a one-on-one session in which someone with a deep knowledge of literature and philosophy will create a reading list to help a client make a decision or confront a challenge.

Standing on the shoulders of giants is all about benefiting from the history of ideas and The School of Life's stepladder may provide a short cut.

''A lot of the questions and concerns we're looking at today in our modern lives we often like to think of as unique and think of as contextual to technology or the falling away of religion or something that is very modern, but in fact most of the things we think about have been thought about before.''

The School of Life Melbourne is opening on March 24 at 669 Bourke Street, Melbourne.

34 comments

Thanks Kaj,This sounds like it will be a wonderful addition to Melbourne's cultural landscape. Two questions:- For someone who is new to Alain's work, what book would you recommend I start with and why?- When are you coming to Sydney?

Commenter

Maryanne

Date and time

February 24, 2014, 11:18AM

1. I'd start with The Consolations of Philosophy - a brilliant, broad and ambitious book. 2. We'd love to pop-up in Sydney some time soon. We'll open in Melbourne in a few weeks time and then we'll start to look at launching a pilot term in Sydney. Perhaps late this year?!

Commenter

Kaj

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 24, 2014, 11:56AM

Why do think the School of Life resonates so much with Australians? What makes us so happy to discuss our inner most thoughts with a group of strangers?

Commenter

Alicia

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 24, 2014, 11:24AM

I think The School has resonated with people because it provides a form of permission for people to explore thoughts and ideas that they most likely have never explored with other people. Australians are generally quite open to trying new things and have hence dived straight into our material and our courses. The School also encourages curiosity rather than giving people easy answers, which means that people lean towards action, alongside their reflections. This active and practical approach to philosophy and culture has really resonated with people.

Commenter

Kaj

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 24, 2014, 12:06PM

How could business adapt this approach to support staff who are facing challenges in the workplace?

Commenter

Alicia

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 24, 2014, 11:31AM

Ultimately, great businesses should be trying to fulfill the genuine needs of their customers but also their staff and the community around them. The BCorporation community in Australia (http://www.bcorporation.net.au/) is starting to build around this core idea. Philosophy, literature, art and the broader social sciences can actively help businesses to create meaningful workplaces that allow their staff to flourish, not just to bring home a pay-check. The School of Life Australia will soon be offering a program for organisations to learn more about the powerful combination of philosophy and business.

Commenter

Kaj

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 24, 2014, 11:52AM

Hi Kaj,How do you select your faculty for the School of Life courses?

Commenter

Danielle

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 24, 2014, 11:44AM

Our faculty come from a wide range of backgrounds. Most are published authors, many are trained teachers. All have a driving passion for using culture and philosophy in a practical way to help us live wisely and well. We are growing our faculty very organically and quite slowly, but if you are interested, you can email info@theschooloflife.com.au

Commenter

Kaj

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 24, 2014, 12:00PM

Hi there,

Do you think eventually you will be offering classes in other states?

Commenter

ConCon

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 24, 2014, 11:47AM

We'd love to offer classes in other states, and we're starting to explore the idea of pop-up terms in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and elsewhere. There are lots of people interested in The School from outside of Melbourne, and we'd love to spread our classes around Australia.